Adventures in Madrid

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I get so caught up with day-to-day life here that it's difficult to actually sit down and write a full entry. This weekend we went to Madrid, the capital of Spain. We took a charter bus there with our school, and got a free guided tour of the Palacio Real-- the King's Palace. It was really similar to the way Windsor Castle in England looked... tall rooms with a lot of chandeliers and clocks and a GIANT dining room. You know, a palace with a ballroom and some sort of Spanish Cinderella in the corner.

After the Palace, we went on a bus tour of Madrid, which I didn't pay much attention to because we were going to be able to explore all weekend. We went to lunch at Museo de Jamón (Museum of Ham), which is pretty much the equivalent of a Spanish Applebee's (containing no hamburgers or mozzarella sticks, but rather bland Spanish "standbys"... more on this later). I was incredibly disappointed, as the school could have provided some kind of typical Spanish food... instead, we were served an American meal of french fries and a breaded chicken fillet. Come on guys... ¿En serio? (Seriously?)

We had grand plans to go to a trendy club that night, so we had to go to H&M to get me something acceptably European (I only brought t-shirts and shorts to Europe-- stupid). It is summer discount time here, so we got a black button-down for 10 Euro. Best purchase ever. After H&M, we got to check into our hostel, which was an experience. My first hostel wasn't full because it was a Sunday, but our hostel was totally full. It's awkward sleeping in a room with 5 other people you don't know, and you really don't have that "hey, I'll be coming home late/waking you up" talk with them--- mostly because they might not speak English.

We decided to split up for a few hours to siesta/shop/do whatever, and I ended up walking around with a few girls to just see the city. There is definitely a stereotypical Spanish architecture, and Madrid full of it (which makes sense, but still). We stumbled upon a Spanish/Argentinean restaurant (I still don't really know what it was called) and had dinner... I ended up sharing a pizza with someone else in the group, and grabbing some Tinto de Verano (Summer Wine (red wine mixed with lemonade)).

After that, we did a botellón in a plaza with a few bottles of wine. We were waiting for the pub crawl at our hostel--- which started at 1:30 AM. We made it to the hostel (and I was exhausted!) to do the pub crawl, which included many free shots of tequila and a salsa club. I guess I'll leave it at that.

The next morning, we got up early, and tried to find some breakfast/lunch. We accidentally ended up at ANOTHER Museo de Jamón, and I ordered a plate of what I thought would be pork. Turns out, it was... but with the skin (and hair) still attached. Disgusting. Worst restaurant experience ever.

After that, we went to an old cathedral (again, I don't have any idea what it was). Again, it looked like a lot of the other cathedrals I've been to, so it wasn't that exciting (although I am still amazed how many of these places there are and how opulent they all are). My friend Sarah and I decided to go to the park while our other friends went to El Prado, the big art museum in Madrid (we're going with a class later in July). About 5 minutes into the park, our friends caught up with us... turns out, the museum is free from 6-7, so we made plans to return that night.

As we explored the park, it quickly became one of my favorite places in Madrid. There were lakes, pools, and topiaries everywhere. Kind of like Alice in Wonderland on crack. It was great. We found a piece of shade (sombra) and took a nap--right there in the middle of the park. It was really relaxing.

I had made dinner reservations at a vegetarian restaurant that night (for Sarah's birthday) and it was one of the better meals I've had while I've been here in Spain. Everything was really fresh, and they kept our water pitchers filled all night. After the restaurant, we went to a few bars and clubs, and Madrid-style, didn't return to our hostel until 6 AM.

The next day, we went to El Rastro, which is a large outdoor Sunday market in the streets of Madrid. It was sort of disappointing, though... especially after going to Otavalo in Ecuador. It definitely lacked that "homemade" artifact feel, and felt manufactured (there were about 20 pashmina stands that all sold the same things).

We wanted to go back to Toledo, so we made our way to the train station and (Amazing Race-style) had to scour the station for the one desk that sells the tickets to Toledo. We were successful, and got on the next high-speed train that can make the trip from Madrid to Toledo in a half-hour, 45 minutes faster than by bus. It was my first time on a train-- I was surprised how similar the interior looked to a plane, but also surprised that there were no "flight attendants" to maintain order in the cars.

We returned to Toledo and I took a shower and a nap. Definitely a great weekend!